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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: big gifts

big gifts stories: 11 news summaries

 Grandparents Face 
 Bitter Foe: Other 
 Grandparents 

Jealousy games amount to big consumer spending

May 14, 09 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Baby boomers are joining the ranks of grandparents, and as usual, they want to be the best—which includes outranking other grandparents in their mutual grandchildren's affections. The competition is so fierce that it's an economic stimulus unto itself: 42% of gift spending is by grandparents, the Boston Globe... More »

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baby boomer • big gifts • competition • grandparents • consumerism

 Wade Gives 
 Displaced Family 
 New Home

Florida family lost all in accidental fire

Dec 25, 08 12:48 PM CST
(Newser) - Christmas seemed destroyed for Dawn Smith’s family after her nephew accidentally burned down their Florida home, but Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has saved it. He helped Smith move into a new home on Christmas Eve, providing furnishings, clothes, and gifts for the holidays, the AP reports. Wade’s... More »

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Florida • Miami Heat • Dwyane Wade • big gifts • charity • Christmas • house fire

Just in Time for
Holidays: No Job

Families struggle to save traditions on Tiny Tim budgets

Nov 30, 08 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Few things ruin the holidays like losing a job. Yet that's what's happening to thousands of Americans just as they were planning to treat friends and families to gifts and holiday gatherings. The turnaround is excruciating as families struggle to save traditions on extremely tight budgets, reports the New York ... More »

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big gifts • holiday • Christmas • school holidays • Hanukkah • gift • holiday depression • financial crisis • chanukah

UPDATED

Stevens Pleads Not Guilty

Judge sets pre-Election Day trial date, but defers ruling on venue change to Alaska

Jul 31, 08 12:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Washington to seven counts of corruption, the Anchorage Daily News reports. At his lawyers' request, the judge set a tentative trial date of Sept. 24, more than 5 weeks before the Nov. 4 general election. He'll rule on... More »

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Congress • Alaska • Senate • big gifts • corruption • Ted Stevens

 Cruises Welcome Kidman's Kid  

Baby gifts include Hermes goods

Jul 11, 08 11:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tom Cruise’s clan sent a huge baby gift basket to his ex-wife Nicole Kidman in celebration of the birth of her daughter Sunday Rose, People reports. Contrary to reports that Cruise filled Kidman's Nashville hospital room with flowers, he and his brood—including their two kids together—sent the... More »

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Nicole Kidman • Tom Cruise • big gifts • Katie Holmes • baby • celebrity parents • Keith Urban

All I Want for Xmas is a
$1.6M Concert 

Private Kirov Orchestra show tops new Neiman Marcus gift catalogue

Oct 3, 07 4:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - A $1.6 million concert by the Kirov Orchestra is just one eye-popping highlight of Neiman Marcus' brand new Christmas catalogue, which is chock full of super-extravagant gifts most of us can only salivate over. The private concert for 500 includes a Steinway Concert Grand piano autographed by the musicians.... More »

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artificial intelligence • shopping • big gifts • robot • Christmas • Neiman Marcus • Kirov Orchestra

UC Berkeley Gets $113M to Corral Profs

Gift will slow loss of good teachers to richer, private schools

Sep 10, 07 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - UC Berkeley will announce a $113 million gift today, which the school will use to create 100 new endowed chairs—hopefully slowing the emigration of professors to the juicier paychecks offered by private universities. The gift is unusual in that it will go straight to ordinary activities rather than building... More »

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education • California • higher education • big gifts • UC Berkeley • college • endowed chair • teaching • professor

Michael Moore Saves, Exploits His Enemy

The director cuts a check for rival's medical expenses, uses in film

Jun 11, 07 9:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - The man behind an anti-Michael Moore website found himself on the right end of his target’s checkbook after the documentarian dropped 12K to cover the blogger's uninsured wife's medical expenses. Jim Kenefick received the anonymous gift after seeking help from visitors to Moorewatch.com, which aims to expose Moore's... More »

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health insurance • big gifts • Sicko • Michael Moore • Jim Kenefick • documentary • film director

$100 Million Here, $100 Million There...

U of I gets second huge gift in as many days to Illinois universities

Jun 2, 07 6:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - And, as Illinois' late Senator Everett Dirksen once said, you are talking about real money. Tom Siebel, University of Illinois graduate and founder of Siebel Systems, a customer management relationship software firm, pledged $100 million in his will to the U of I. More »

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University of Illinois • University of Chicago • big gifts • Tom Siebel • money • donation • campaign fundraising

U Chicago Receives $100 Mil Gift

Jun 1, 07 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - An anonymous donor has pledged the largest gift ever—$100 million—to the University of Chicago. The gift's purpose is to eliminate student loans for undergraduates from low-income families. The donor came from a family of modest means and has, quite obviously, done well for himself . The university identified the... More »

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Chicago • student loans • University of Chicago • big gifts • Archimedes • donation • Odyssey Scholarship

Marquette Snags $51 Mil Gift

May 4, 07 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Raymond and Kathryn Eckstein donated $51 million to build Marquette University a new law school.  The gift is the single largest gift to a Wisconsin educational institution, topping the $50 million John Morgridge and his wife gave to the University of Wisconsin. More »

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Wisconsin • Midwest • big gifts • Marquette University • Raymond Eckstein • law school

11 Stories


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